Toyota Carina E - when will it stop?!

manatoo

Hey just wondering if anyone can match this for a ridiculously reliable car

1995 1.6 XLi bought in 2005 for €900 with 63,000 miles. Today it has 131,000 miles and was laid up for a year while I was in Oz so 17,000 a year since I bought it. In that time I have replaced 2 link arms in the suspension (worn bushing, clunking sound over ramps) and also the timing belt at 120,000. Other than that I chuck some oil in it every 5,000 miles-ish or whenever the light comes on and the odd bucket of water every now and then!

I don't think motoring can be done much cheaper than this! About to take it on a 3.5 week tour of France in a week's time too! Has anyone else experience of these cars or any stories to tell positive or negative??

Ponster

Mod Edit : Moved from FAQ

Eric Cartman

In before VB

manatoo

What does in before VB mean??

Eric Cartman

manatoo wrote: »

What does in before VB mean??

theres a user on boards who used to go by the name VolvoBoy , the toyota carina is his passion

cian1500ww

manatoo wrote: »

Hey just wondering if anyone can match this for a ridiculously reliable car

1995 1.6 XLi bought in 2005 for €900 with 63,000 miles. Today it has 131,000 miles and was laid up for a year while I was in Oz so 17,000 a year since I bought it. In that time I have replaced 2 link arms in the suspension (worn bushing, clunking sound over ramps) and also the timing belt at 120,000. Other than that I chuck some oil in it every 5,000 miles-ish or whenever the light comes on and the odd bucket of water every now and then!

I don't think motoring can be done much cheaper than this! About to take it on a 3.5 week tour of France in a week's time too! Has anyone else experience of these cars or any stories to tell positive or negative??

Is it burning oil, because it should only need an oil change every 10,000 miles and make sure you keep plenty of coolant in the car as the more water you add the more diluted the coolant becomes making it less effective

They're a great car indeed, I know a man who has a '91 Nissan Primera that has over 250,000 miles on the clock and no major repairs done to it. The Japanese really made some brilliantly reliable cars.

pajo1981

manatoo wrote: »

Hey just wondering if anyone can match this for a ridiculously reliable car

1995 1.6 XLi bought in 2005 for €900 with 63,000 miles. Today it has 131,000 miles and was laid up for a year while I was in Oz so 17,000 a year since I bought it. In that time I have replaced 2 link arms in the suspension (worn bushing, clunking sound over ramps) and also the timing belt at 120,000. Other than that I chuck some oil in it every 5,000 miles-ish or whenever the light comes on and the odd bucket of water every now and then!

I don't think motoring can be done much cheaper than this! About to take it on a 3.5 week tour of France in a week's time too! Has anyone else experience of these cars or any stories to tell positive or negative??

131k is no big deal really tbh.

Andrew33

Eric Cartman wrote: »

theres a user on boards who used to go by the name VolvoBoy , the toyota carina is his passion

Passion? Fetish morelike. All E's should be dragged into a field somewhere and burned.

dahamsta

My old man's E went to 300k, the latter 100k in northern Sweden, engine heaters an' all. He replaced it with an Avensis in the end, cos it crapped out just before he went to do that stupid cycling pilgrimage thing in Spain. If he'd had a little faith it would well still be going.

Eric Cartman

dahamsta wrote: »

My old man's E went to 300k, the latter 100k in northern Sweden, engine heaters an' all. He replaced it with an Avensis in the end, cos it crapped out just before he went to do that stupid cycling pilgrimage thing in Spain. If he'd had a little faith it would well still be going.

sure they dont even start without padre pio's on the windscreen, those things are like an extended warranty

manatoo

Well I'm not VB!

Firstly I'm not sayin its a nice car and I sure dont have a fetish for it and I know it's not the biggest mileage! But reading the other posts in here of people gettin new catalysts on 6 yr old VWs, exploding turbos on 4 yr old pugs, constant electrical problems on Fiats, etc etc....I dont have any of these problems and my car is nearly 16 years old! What do you guys drive? Have you had problems?

Tigger

My spare car is a 96 vectra 1.7td with an izuzu engine

I bought it in 2002 with 120,000 miles on it and used it to commute 100miles a day for a long time

I got a newer car in 06 which I was using instead so I keep the vectra for when it's icy or if the main car is getting serviced. It always starts on the button after weeks or even months not going and past year it passed the nctfirst time for the third time in a row currently has 257,000 miles on

manatoo

Cian - oil change intervals are 6000 miles for these oldies. It gets thru about a litre every 1500 miles since I got it so two top ups usually does it between oil changes. I asked a toyota dealer mechanic about this and he said all Toyotas of the time drank a small amount of oil even when they were new. Gets throught the emmissions test in the NCT with flying colours every time - 0.01ppm

Tea drinker

pajo1981 wrote: »

131k is no big deal really tbh.

It is if it's mostly urban miles..... Seems great cheap motoring for a 95.

Is VolvoBoy the guy that has one as a taxi?

Max Power1

Carina E- the epitomy of bulletproof reliability that makes bangernomics easy!

I love these cars! Especially when the mileage gets to something like 300-400k and still running as sweet as a nut!

cian1500ww

manatoo wrote: »

Cian - oil change intervals are 6000 miles for these oldies. It gets thru about a litre every 1500 miles since I got it so two top ups usually does it between oil changes. I asked a toyota dealer mechanic about this and he said all Toyotas of the time drank a small amount of oil even when they were new. Gets throught the emmissions test in the NCT with flying colours every time - 0.01ppm

Ah you should be ok so, make sure to keep the coolant right though

manatoo

Yea a friend of mine has that same diesel vectra. His is up round 260,000 too BUT he has put 2 steering racks, 2 exhausts in and countless electrical problems over the years.
Have you had any of these issues?

Engine just goes on and on though.

Eric Cartman

manatoo wrote: »

Well I'm not VB!

Firstly I'm not sayin its a nice car and I sure dont have a fetish for it and I know it's not the biggest mileage! But reading the other posts in here of people gettin new catalysts on 6 yr old VWs, exploding turbos on 4 yr old pugs, constant electrical problems on Fiats, etc etc....I dont have any of these problems and my car is nearly 16 years old! What do you guys drive? Have you had problems?

not saying you were VB , just i know hell be along at some point , the carina e was a very well built car, my dad had 3 of them , as for other reliable cars well my old kia sorento had 64000 miles when i bought her, full service history and nothing more than bushings and tyres were changed on her , i then added a further 35000 and gave it a lot of abuse and yet again changed nothign but tyres , brake pads and bushings, belongs to a lad in cork now and has a fair few more miles on her with no problems

pajo1981

manatoo wrote: »

Well I'm not VB!

Firstly I'm not sayin its a nice car and I sure dont have a fetish for it and I know it's not the biggest mileage! But reading the other posts in here of people gettin new catalysts on 6 yr old VWs, exploding turbos on 4 yr old pugs, constant electrical problems on Fiats, etc etc....I dont have any of these problems and my car is nearly 16 years old! What do you guys drive? Have you had problems?

People only post when they're having problems. The maj. of cars run up to 200k+ without major incident.

Tea 1000

I can beat that - the Carina E was built as a family car, the Colt was built as a run-around, however your Carina seems to have an appetite for oil and water... my mothers Colt, 97, is over 135,000 miles and doesn't burn a drop of oil or use any water! 100% reliable, nothing changed on it yet, no sqeaks or rattles from any major component! Drivers seat belt is slow to retract, that's the only annoying thing.

manatoo

Jeez Kia who'd have thought! Yeah if the E would finally pack it in I'd love to get something a bit more desirable but then I've been shielded from mechanics bills for so long that I think I'd find it hard to swallow if I went out and actually paid real money (as opposed to <1000) for a car and then had to start payin mechanics....seems to me like very few modern cars offer that sort of reliability

manatoo

Tea- I meant water as in throw a bucket over it to clean it! I think i last went near the coolant in 2008! The oil consumption is normal according to Toyota and my car is 2 years older than your colt! Good show by it too though, Mitsubishi made great cars back then. Not so much anymore unfortuntately...

Tea 1000

manatoo wrote: »

Jeez Kia who'd have thought! Yeah if the E would finally pack it in I'd love to get something a bit more desirable but then I've been shielded from mechanics bills for so long that I think I'd find it hard to swallow if I went out and actually paid real money (as opposed to <1000) for a car and then had to start payin mechanics....seems to me like very few modern cars offer that sort of reliability

Last of the uber-reliable cars was probably the 98-03 model Accord. After that everything has electronic gizmos that turn lights on in the dash that no one seems to know how to put out without trying 3 or 4 things that cost a few hundred each!

BrianD3

Mechanically it could go on pretty much indefinitely and just need wear and tear items replaced. On the other hand the engine or gearbox could expire tomorrow.

The main thing to watch for with that car now will be rust. You could have insidious rust eating away inside a box section or sill and only discover it when you get flaking paint or bubbles on the outside. Also watch for rust under window and sunroof seals and for water leaks into the boot and interior.

It should also be said that it is an unsafe car by modern standards. For me that would put me off doing a lot of driving in one.

As for modern cars and other makes being worse than Carina Es, the internet gives an overly pessimistic view of car relaibility. Bad news spreads very quickly. Any modern car from any make has the potential to do big mileage with few problems. I've got over 230k on my Laguna II that I've owned from new, engine, gearbox, body and interior all very good, uses no oil. Many wearing parts replaced but many original eg 3 original shocks, wishbones, clutch, exhaust, battery, brake discs. I am thinking of selling it out of boredom more than anything else, life is too short etc.

itarumaa

BrianD3 wrote: »

As for modern cars and other makes being worse than Carina Es, the internet gives an overly pessimistic view of car relaibility. Bad news spreads very quickly. Any modern car from any make has the potential to do big mileage with few problems. I've got over 230k on my Laguna II that I've owned from new, engine, gearbox, body and interior all very good, uses no oil. Many wearing parts repalced but many original eg 3 original shocks, wishbones, exhaust, battery, brake discs. I am thinking of selling it out of boredom more than anything else, life is too short etc.

Would be interesting to see what kind of market there is for Laguna II that has 230k miles:)

Ali Babba

itarumaa wrote: »

Would be interesting to see what kind of market there is for Laguna II that has 230k miles:)

The only ones to buy that would be Renault to add to their hall of fame....... although if it's cheap enough or for nothing i'll take it and crush it to get rid of another one of them.:)

manatoo

Brian, I hear you on the rust thing but so far I havent seen anything potentially a problem. sills are very clean and chassis seems of all round. theres some surface rust just where it got tipped off various things over the years but nothing thats spreading.

I have to say I have a mate thats a mechanic with Renault who said that of a bad make, the Laguna II was their worst model! You haven't had any of the engine problems going round? The EGR valve? The tyre pressure sensors bullsh1t? The constant window regulators? Aren't all those things dealer only and €500+ problems?

The safety thing, yeah I hear you but you can look at that two ways. When cars that are now old came out first they were considered state of the art safetywise and we all drove wherever we wanted in them, how can they now be unsafe? On the other hand, mine doesnt even have a driver's airbag. Sometimes I find myself looking at the Toyota emblem on the steering wheel and wondering if some day it'll be imprinted on my forehead as the horn beeps unceasingly.....

Eric Cartman

itarumaa wrote: »

Would be interesting to see what kind of market there is for Laguna II that has 230k miles:)

how much money did you pump into that car ? id say its had every pasrt changed twice at this stage

W123-80's

I thing I've emntioned my old mans '94 2.0D Corolla on a similar thread before.

The early 90's Toyotas were pretty bullet proof alright. The Old man's has 225k on the clock, he is the 2nd owner. Going like a dream. Not burning a tint of oil. Still on the original clutch!

Would love to get my hands on that model Corolla in a 2.0D with less the 120k on the clock.......... As well off looking for hens teeth I suspect.

manatoo

W123-80's wrote: »

Would love to get my hands on that model Corolla in a 2.0D with less the 120k on the clock.......... As well off looking for hens teeth I suspect.

True. There are some of the 1.3 petrols up for sale on donedeal and buyandsell. theyre unbelievably good too but the 2.0 diesel is even better

corktina

i saw the very first one built (in the UK) a couple of days ago, it looked very good.....







mind you , its in a museum....

manatoo

i've seen pics of that! Looks bizarre in a museum... not sure it's that momentous....

BrianD3

manatoo wrote: »

I have to say I have a mate thats a mechanic with Renault who said that of a bad make, the Laguna II was their worst model! You haven't had any of the engine problems going round? The EGR valve? The tyre pressure sensors bullsh1t? The constant window regulators? Aren't all those things dealer only and €500+ problems?

Yes I have had a couple of tyre pressure sensors, 3 coils and one regulator. No EGR. I've spent around 500 quid in total on the above, only the pressure sensors were main dealer only.

The safety thing, yeah I hear you but you can look at that two ways. When cars that are now old came out first they were considered state of the art safetywise and we all drove wherever we wanted in them, how can they now be unsafe? On the other hand, mine doesnt even have a driver's airbag. Sometimes I find myself looking at the Toyota emblem on the steering wheel and wondering if some day it'll be imprinted on my forehead as the horn beeps unceasingly.....

Well modern cars are just safer overall in collisions with other cars and with immovable objects. Another issue that relates to your point is that modern cars have gotten more "aggressive". In a 30 mph crash, the average car in 2010 will intrude more into a Carina E that the average car in 1995 would have.

king_of_inismac

had an xli corolla with 300000 miles on it.

Has been sitting in a field for the last 2 years and will still start without a bother.

Lu Tze

My father is still driving a 93 Opel Vectra 1.7 TDI. 280,000+ miles on it, the first 100,000 of which it was used as a taxi we found out later. Still going strong, has the isuzu engine in it though, not the opel one.

d'Oracle

I was in NZ for a year+.
Bought one just after arriving.
Lived in Rotorua for a year, (sulphur gas is bad for cars).
Got rid of it just before going round the south island in favour of something bigger (Nissan Terrano).

Stupid rookie mistake.
Not going into details on the Terrano, but I will say that the Carina E (which was neover 10 years old at the time) drove better when we got rid than when we got!

manatoo

d'Oracle wrote: »

I was in NZ for a year+.

Not going into details on the Terrano, but I will say that the Carina E (which was neover 10 years old at the time) drove better when we got rid than when we got!

U sure it was a carina E? I lived in Australia for a while and there was never any version of the Carina including the E sold there....

cian1500ww

Lu Tze wrote: »

My father is still driving a 93 Opel Vectra 1.7 TDI. 280,000+ miles on it, the first 100,000 of which it was used as a taxi we found out later. Still going strong, has the isuzu engine in it though, not the opel one.

It would have been remade into something by now if it had the opel engine

manatoo

BrianD3 wrote: »

Yes I have had a couple of tyre pressure sensors, 3 coils and one regulator. No EGR. I've spent around 500 quid in total on the above, only the pressure sensors were main dealer only.

What engine is in yours? I'd actuall love to own one of these, been in a few taxis n stuff and when they're working they're such a comfortable car but the horror stories I've heard from mechanics and taxi drivers alike along with the suspiciously microscopic prices you see them advertised for always puts me off....

manatoo

king_of_inismac wrote: »

had an xli corolla with 300000 miles on it.

Has been sitting in a field for the last 2 years and will still start without a bother.

What year? what engine? Why did you stop using it??

kermitpwee

BrianD3 wrote: »

The main thing to watch for with that car now will be rust. You could have insidious rust eating away inside a box section or sill and only discover it when you get flaking paint or bubbles on the outside. Also watch for rust under window and sunroof seals and for water leaks into the boot and interior.

QUOTE]

BrianD3 wrote: »

The main thing to watch for with that car now will be rust. You could have insidious rust eating away inside a box section or sill and only discover it when you get flaking paint or bubbles on the outside. Also watch for rust under window and sunroof seals and for water leaks into the boot and interior.
QUOTE]

I have never seen a Carina E with rust unless it was damaged or accident repaired ad I have had 5 of them. They dont rust around the windows or in the sills like normal cars. They can leak in the boot if the lid is out of line.

Common problems are the lambda sensor goes in them. It will turn on the engine management light, the car will still run fine with it gone but a little heavier on fuel. It will also pass the Nct on emmissions as the fueling will work on a safe mode setting.
The throttle body can stick in them and they will idle at 1400- 1600 revs even when warm. Cleaning it generally doesn't work as the butterfly and the throttle body casing are made out of materials that expand at siginificantly different temperatures.


If its running rough an odd time or during driving it will start to hesitate or lack power(it can missfire a lot when idling if its very bad) then you have a faulty fuel injector. These can not be cleaned as the problem is with the electrical unit on the injector itself. This unit loses resistance under high temperature conditions.
They do the bushins in the back suspension a lot, its not a big job, fuel lines are a common issue at Nct time but these can be done cheaply. As age gets a hold steering racks can leak and gearboxes can be weak, also the wiper linkages need to be done.

On the whole a very reliabile vehicle, I have pointed out the common flaws, you may never experience them. If your on a budget then they are a cheap car to run. In mixed driving they can return 42mpg and up to 48mpg on the motorway at a steady 60mph.

P.s they do need more oil top ups then normal cars but they will still pass the test easily on emmissions.

keithclancy

In fairness though, i've seen some overpriced sh*tbox Carina E's around.

ERRA ITS GRAND SHE'LL DO ANOTHER 200000 MILES ...

that'll be 2 grand there boss.

mecanoman

Great cars, i seen alot more of them around recently.

No software problems, or ECU problems. Basic sensors, for basic

driving from A to B, love them.

d'Oracle

manatoo wrote: »

U sure it was a carina E? I lived in Australia for a while and there was never any version of the Carina including the E sold there....

Said so on the back.:D
It was imported from the UK.
Someone loved it.

BrianD3

BrianD3 wrote: »

Mechanically it could go on pretty much indefinitely and just need wear and tear items replaced. On the other hand the engine or gearbox could expire tomorrow

Engine and gearbox failure on the Carina E is/was very uncommon, I would think that at 130000 miles the transmission is barely worn at all if the gearbox hasn't suffered a leak.

Unlike the ST202 Celica GT that had quite a name for worn synchroes, I friend had one that was getting very bad, my own Celica was quite whiney but it had an LSD which apparently do whine a bit. Still, was a bit worrying.

king_of_inismac

Just wanted a change really. The car was in PWO to be honest.

The only that that I had to change was the drop links, but that's a 20 minutes job and you'd expect them to go with the state of irish roads.

If I put a set of new tyres on it, It could be back on the road tomorrow (1.3 petrol engine).

p.s. I kept it regularly serviced (oil/filters/plugs etc.)

Tea 1000

manatoo wrote: »

Brian, I hear you on the rust thing but so far I havent seen anything potentially a problem. sills are very clean and chassis seems of all round. theres some surface rust just where it got tipped off various things over the years but nothing thats spreading.

I have to say I have a mate thats a mechanic with Renault who said that of a bad make, the Laguna II was their worst model! You haven't had any of the engine problems going round? The EGR valve? The tyre pressure sensors bullsh1t? The constant window regulators? Aren't all those things dealer only and €500+ problems?

The safety thing, yeah I hear you but you can look at that two ways. When cars that are now old came out first they were considered state of the art safetywise and we all drove wherever we wanted in them, how can they now be unsafe? On the other hand, mine doesnt even have a driver's airbag. Sometimes I find myself looking at the Toyota emblem on the steering wheel and wondering if some day it'll be imprinted on my forehead as the horn beeps unceasingly.....

EGR valves and all that lark are all to reduce emissions, EU regulations etc forcing their existance.

manatoo

kermitpwee wrote: »

BrianD3 wrote: »

The main thing to watch for with that car now will be rust. You could have insidious rust eating away inside a box section or sill and only discover it when you get flaking paint or bubbles on the outside. Also watch for rust under window and sunroof seals and for water leaks into the boot and interior.

QUOTE]

BrianD3 wrote: »

The main thing to watch for with that car now will be rust. You could have insidious rust eating away inside a box section or sill and only discover it when you get flaking paint or bubbles on the outside. Also watch for rust under window and sunroof seals and for water leaks into the boot and interior.
QUOTE]

I have never seen a Carina E with rust unless it was damaged or accident repaired ad I have had 5 of them. They dont rust around the windows or in the sills like normal cars. They can leak in the boot if the lid is out of line.

Common problems are the lambda sensor goes in them. It will turn on the engine management light, the car will still run fine with it gone but a little heavier on fuel. It will also pass the Nct on emmissions as the fueling will work on a safe mode setting.
The throttle body can stick in them and they will idle at 1400- 1600 revs even when warm. Cleaning it generally doesn't work as the butterfly and the throttle body casing are made out of materials that expand at siginificantly different temperatures.


If its running rough an odd time or during driving it will start to hesitate or lack power(it can missfire a lot when idling if its very bad) then you have a faulty fuel injector. These can not be cleaned as the problem is with the electrical unit on the injector itself. This unit loses resistance under high temperature conditions.
They do the bushins in the back suspension a lot, its not a big job, fuel lines are a common issue at Nct time but these can be done cheaply. As age gets a hold steering racks can leak and gearboxes can be weak, also the wiper linkages need to be done.

On the whole a very reliabile vehicle, I have pointed out the common flaws, you may never experience them. If your on a budget then they are a cheap car to run. In mixed driving they can return 42mpg and up to 48mpg on the motorway at a steady 60mph.

P.s they do need more oil top ups then normal cars but they will still pass the test easily on emmissions.

Jeez ur worrying me now. It's been so insanely reliable over the years that I never thought twice about bringing it to france when I was booking the ferry back in May. Hope she survives it. Gruelling 3000 miles in 30+ degree heat.

Are you a mechanic? Since you seem to know what youre talking about, there has been 1 thing. It's happened about 3 times in the five years I've had it, the most recent about 3 weeks ago. Basically I start the car, it fires as normal but then idles really roughly. After grevving to about 2000 and holding it there it smoothes out after bout 7/8 seconds and runs perfectly then. It doesnt seem to be due to hot/cold starts or anything. No idea what it is/could be. Just hope if it's the injector thing u mentioned above that it wont ruin my holiday!

manatoo

RoverJames wrote: »

Engine and gearbox failure on the Carina E is/was very uncommon, I would think that at 130000 miles the transmission is barely worn at all if the gearbox hasn't suffered a leak.

Unlike the ST202 Celica GT that had quite a name for worn synchroes, I friend had one that was getting very bad, my own Celica was quite whiney but it had an LSD which apparently do whine a bit. Still, was a bit worrying.

Question - I read in the manual that the tranny fluid is supposed to be changed every 60,000 miles. Didn't know how to do it so....just didn't do it. Could that be a potential problem? I often think that since I inevitably crash the gears every so often there must be little pieces of metal inside the casing that could potentially do damage. Is this something I need to think about? It works 100% though, silky smooth gear changes

Guy:Incognito

My 2 highest mileage vehicles were my Peugeot Partner @ 180k (could have been a bit more I cant remember exactly, but it's still going around) and my current 97 expert @ 135k.

One of my Safrane's had 130 on it and everythign worked as it should , which considering it had electric everything (4 windows, mirrors, heating/movign/memory seats, steering wheel adjust, dual zone climate control etc) made it a super car for the peanuts I got it for . It was a 93 I bought it in 2006. Although I must be mistaken because I've been reliably informed here that Renaults are only good for 3/4 years then they die :rolleyes:

My Xantia has had an easy life. Just 65k in 10.

Outside of that the only other 100k + car currently in the family is my dads 00 Laguna (on 125k) and apart from seeming to be a magnet for middle aged woman to crash in to (doors and wings on both sides replace in the last year) , hasnt missed a beat.

manatoo

d'Oracle wrote: »

Said so on the back.:D
It was imported from the UK.
Someone loved it.

Thats classic. Imported n all. Wish I brought the E to oz myself. Would've been far less costly than the crapheap I had out there. Mitsubishi Magna. Terrible machine. Constant overheating and it had really low kms. It was like a million years old though...